The surname that need not be mentioned

George P. Bush, right, stands with his uncle former President George W. Bush. George W.'s snared 44 percent of the Hispanic vote in his final election, representing the GOP at the top of its game with Latinos.

See. I don't even have to use the last name and many of you know who this is, though his tio, W, has him beat on name abbreviation.

Many calculate that P is a future governor, attorney general, land commissioner or, apparently, holder of whatever statewide office presents itself first in Texas.

And someday? You didn't hear it here first — President P.

But, of course, were it not for the surname-that-need-not-be-mentioned, he'd have to work much harder to be mentioned.

No, that's not quite right. Mexican roots also burnish his star stature. He represents the perfect mixture of dynasty and just-regular-folks (who also happen to be a growing portion of the electorate).

P is thrown into some pretty fast company on this question of whether Republicans can cut themselves bigger portions of this pie.

Marco Rubio, Florida's wunderkind U.S. senator, and our newly elected Sen. Ted Cruz are also mentioned — more often, actually, since each has already won high office.

But, in the Southwest anyway, P has some things going for him.

His roots on his mother's side are in Guanajuato, Mexico. That's where Columba Bush was born and where she met her future husband, exchange student Jeb.

And P, though he reportedly supported tea party darling Cruz, has, near as I can tell, avoided that label.

He should keep it that way. If the Republican Party needs anything, it's something new.

I called to see if George P., in fact, represents this new way. That was last week; no return call.

But let's suppose that P, though conservative, is more H W than T.C. Cruz. Let's say also that he is more than a soothing tone — Rubio — and has an open mind on the role of government in investing in opportunity.

Such a change would represent a paradigm shift for the Texas GOP, might actually be the real deal in canceling Democratic advantage with Latinos.

As political scientist Cal Jillson of Southern Methodist University explains, P likely doesn't have to contort rightward to win votes in a Texas primary. And in the general, he stands a good chance of denying a Democratic candidate the Latino votes crucial to winning statewide.

We would then, of course, see phenomenal pressure on the Castro brothers to run statewide.

Coming down the pike for George P. is the Latino litmus test. Cruz is familiar with this. No Latino candidate should have to be.

Regional ethnic identity is a fact of life but gauging whether someone is really, truly all Latino is an exercise in exclusion and alludes to a purity that doesn't and cannot exist.

Nonetheless, George P. already passes on one well-known level.

He has raised nearly $1.5 million through family and the family “network.”

This is soooo Mexican.

If you're in this group, you've probably lost count how many times you've helped a family member clean, paint, cook, build, move or pay a bill. Our old cars don't become trade-ins. They go to brothers, sisters and kids.

This is not exclusively Mexican, but the culture of the family tamal assembly line could take a patent out on it.

The Bush lineage, for W anyway, didn't shut down his regular-guy image. So George P. already has a head start on Latinos envisioning him on that tamal line.

If he cultivates this and embraces policies that appeal — or at least don't alienate — therein lies a winning strategy in an increasingly Latino Texas.